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Tickets issues along High Trestle Trail

  • Sun June 03 2012
  • Posted Jun 3, 2012
This weekend, tickets were being issued along different road crossings along the popular High Trestle Trail.

We are not sure of all the details, but know officers were at the Sheldahl trail crossings gioving tickets for cyclists who did not stop at the stop signs.

Keep sending in your comments if you were involved or saw where the checkpoints were at. BIKEIOWA will try to get scoop.

This comment taken from Facebook user who was on the trail today.
If you hadn't noticed, the Polk County Sheriff Dept was out with a vengeance today on HTT. Quite a few tickets were issued for stop sign runners. As much as I hate to say it, one of the deputies was really over the top. Very rude and beligerant. One innocent rider ended up with a $280 ticket because she had the "gall" to ride away while he was still talking to her. I understand and respect the safety aspects, but this guy was way over the line. It seems like more progress could be make through some safety awareness campaign than some power trip.
We believe in following the rules of the road, but this may be a little extreme. Watch out for public intox and open container out there too...
  • Author: ss
  • Posted By: ss

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Comments (27)  

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Well wilsonRidez I did notice how many friends she has lieing for her and I also noticed the other people in the community that noticed her screaming and carring on like a teenage girl that gave testomony to the fact. And no i do not knoiw what kind of bike she was riding you don't go interrupt a deputy when he is doinf his job to get useless information as that. Get a clue the lady is out for attention and needs to be put in her place.

#27 - biker102 posted Aug 15, 2012

biker102, were you parked at the intersection where Cathy was stopped? What does she look like? What kind of bike was she riding. Did you see how many people she was riding with? How many riders were stopped at this intersection that day? You were at the trail and saw Cathy cursing the officer were you? Did you notice that there were two other riders in the immediate area who watched and witnessed the entire event? It's rather amusing to know that you don't have any clue what you are talking about.

#26 - WilsonRidez posted Jul 4, 2012

Hopefully, everyone is observing stop signs and traffic lights when they are riding in their respective home towns. Why should it be any different when out riding on the trail? There are stop signs on the Great Western Trail, Summerset Trail, etc... - all should be observed. Don't want to unclip from your pedals? Do a track stand and practice it at every stop. Don't like interrupting your riding flow by stopping? Use the subsequent re-start as a chance to practice a spin-up interval. Don't like obeying traffic rules and laws because you feel the bike entitles you? Please wear your Darwin Award jersey out on the trail...

#25 - SingingSingleTracker posted Jun 11, 2012

Official Response per Lisa Hein of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

On behalf of the HTT Steering Committee I wanted to let everyone know we appreciate the use of Facebook and Bike Iowa to keep us updated on the comments and concerns of trail users.

I would also like to clarify some of the points regarding stop signs and ticketing on the HTT. According to the Polk County Sherriff’s department, three tickets were issued last Sunday in Sheldahl. Two were to the same woman. It doesn't appear that law enforcement is running sting operations on the trail.

The stop signs were installed according to state and federal engineering design standards and are intended to protect your safety as there are instances when you may not be able to see cross traffic (cars as well as other bicyclists). Yes, Iowa has a road every mile, so there are a lot of stop signs on our trails. I also realize that some of the rural roads carry less car traffic than the amount of bike traffic on the trail, and that it might make more sense to have the cars stop instead of the bikes. But this would require the approval of County Supervisors, County Engineers, and likely the cities, and getting that approval could be an uphill battle.

At the same time, as a bicyclist and pedestrian, I understand the heightened level of sight distance and sound awareness when entering an intersection. I also know that it’s important to respect the rules and guidelines regarding transportation corridors in general, trails being one of them. Slowing down, looking for vehicles and being prepared to stop will not likely result in a ticket. Blasting through the stop sign and fleeing from an officer probably will.

The only true way to get a bicyclist to stop is to construct a bar or ice cream stand.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/45997872994/10151185492652995/

#24 - ss posted Jun 9, 2012

This is something that we need to get used to unfortunately. I talked with a friend of mine who is a sherriff, they have had several requests for support out there. Several local companies have made donations to help finance it. I completly agree that the stop signs should be yield signs save for a couple of dangerous crossings. They have had several requests by riders and non riders to "police" the trail. They will also be carrying spare tubes/tires/water/first aid kits to help out people in need. They have had several complaints about drunk riders as well. They will be out there when manpower is available. We all know and have seen the negligent riders on the trail, unfortunately a few bad apples make the rest of us look bad. We just have to ride right.

#23 - sean posted Jun 8, 2012

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